Emergency On-line Oil Conditioning-Turbine Oil

Client Situation: An excessive water contamination problem developed on a 6,000-gallon turbine lube system during a peak, summertime generating period at an East Coast generating station. The system's two auxiliary filtration systems were not capable of maintaining the lube oil at an acceptable condition and the source of the leak could not be quickly established. Shutting down to correct the problem was not an option for the client.

Lormar Solution: Lormar immediately dispatched a crew and mobile system to the plant and arrived more than 1,300 miles away within 40 hours of the call.

Lormar began re-circulating the oil on a side stream basis and removed more than 530 gallons of free and emulsified water within the first 6 hours. After 18 hours of operation, Lormar was able to establish that the water contamination leak rate was ~7.5 GPH. A quick test of the water confirmed that the leak resulted from a leaking heat exchanger and not the steam seal system.

Each heat exchanger was isolated and shut-off independently while Lormar observed the rate of water removal at our unit. No reduction in the rate of contamination was observed when Exchanger #1 was shut down. A leak in exchanger #2 was confirmed within 15 minutes of shutting it down. (Note: Pressure tests of the bundles did not indicate a leak) Within 36 hours, system purity was restored to an ISO 12/9 condition with less than 100ppm water.

The client knows that immediate solutions to unpredictable lube contamination problems are only a phone call away. More than 100 similar projects have been completed at other generating facilities nationwide.

Lormar Reclamation Service, 2845-D Broce Dr., Norman, OK 73072. Tel: 405-321-0636; Fax: 405-321-0680.